At Their Feet
by Hyatt Insomnia
Summary: Two priests, one slave, and a whole lot of chaos. In the midst of chaos in Egypt Jounouchi must choose between two who will do anything to have him: Otogi and Seto. SetoJounouchi, OtogiJounouchi... even OtogiSeto at points. (BG pairs not listed)
1. Act One: Discovery

At Their Feet

Rated: PG-13?

Disclaimer: The Yu-Gi-Oh cast does not belong to me. The poetry, however is mine! 

Warnings: Shonen-ai, mild violence, lime-ish. 

Here we have an alternate Universe, Seto/Jounouchi/Otogi (and Yugi gets someone later on, but it's a secret for now) fanfiction in the setting of Egypt with a Yu-Gi-Oh style version of the tale of Moses going on in the background. This was originally planned to be a long one-shot story, but it has far too much plot. Yes, I know I shouldn't be starting another story, but this one is a gift! It is for Renee who much to my surprise actually guessed close to the game for the chapter titles in "White Padded Room" are from. Not to mention she's a loyal reviewer (I think she's reviewed every last one of my Yu-Gi-Oh stories!), so I thought it would be a nice thank you!

So Renee, here is the kick off chapter to your story! I do hope you enjoy! Well, I hope anyone else who might be reading this enjoys too.

~*~*~ 

Act One:

Inside ourselves we are often lost

Blinding by what could be

Mind's eye sees what is not real

And we loose ourselves in the blasphemy. 

Nights in his room where often colder then any other spot in the palace. That is what he had come to find, or in any case believe. A room of its size was not meant to hold only one person, but two perhaps even more. Where as it was filled with treasures, and the bed was large to make the space seem not as large, it was still too large for him to rest comfortably. He looked over the gold sheets of silk that covered his bed, the frown that appeared on his face inevitable. His bed was too big too.

With an intense groan he laid himself upon it. A lecture from the Pharaoh on how he should sleep more would indeed be in order if he didn't do just that; sleep. Not even bothering to get himself out of his robes, or under the covers he rested where he was and closed his emerald eyes. It wasn't long afterwards he discovered something. He wasn't even the least bit tired.

He sat up from his spot on his bed, and again he frowned. He didn't enjoy sleeping much anyways, and it was easy to lie. So that is what he was going to do in the morning, given that his Pharaoh or one of the more blabber mouth of guards didn't catch him awake and outside of his room because outside was where he would be. 'This room is much too great for one person,' he thought to himself them promptly exited. 

Somehow he managed to get outdoors without being noticed by a single person. Being caught outdoors this late at night wasn't very likely to happen either. The Hebrew slaves had gone to sleep for the night, hours ago most likely. He figured it was only a few hours away from daybreak meaning anyone up this late had most likely lost his mind. Him being up at that time further proved that statement.

The nighttimes of Egypt, he had always found them curiously alluring. On nights of a full moon, such as that very night, the small amount of light was reflect off the sand making it look as if it where glowing.  

The hills of sand seemed to be endless, aside from the pause of where the slave's houses stood. He could see a great distances from atop one of them, yet the only view provided where more of the glistening hills of sand. He drew a deep breath into his lungs, holding it there before letting it out in a soft heave of a sigh. 

There are all of those people who inhabit these areas of Egypt, and not one of them was in sight. Nighttime in Egypt was beautiful to look at but even better to look at with someone beside you. Egypt was too big of a continent for a person to spend their time alone. 

As he turned to head back into the palace, more likely then not to wallow in his own loneliness, he caught a dot of a person out of the corner of his eye. They where sitting, or rather, laying on one of the hills. Perhaps this person wouldn't mind his company.

A faint sound of humming began to fill his ears as he took the steps towards the relaxing person. It was sweet, soft song that he often heard the Hebrew slaves humming as they worked. Try as he might, he himself could never hum the tune quite right. He stepped up behind the person, a rather dull, emotionless look on his face and spoke, "One such as you should not be out this late." His voice was cold, hard even. It sounded cruel, like that of, well, guards. That was not how he originally had intended the words to sound.

The person stood up, with rather goofy smile on his face. The moonlight made it so he was able to make out the persons features. It was a boy, with soft white skin, sun brightened blonde hair, and deep honey eyes from what he could tell. You didn't find many people with white skin in Egypt, least of all, a color as pale as his. "You're late," He said as he turned to fully face the person that had addressed him. Indeed his eyes where a deep honey color. They blinked open and closed a few times before the blonde chuckled and spoke again. "I thought you where someone else, sorry."

"Are you waiting for someone?" The Egyptian asked, a soft glimmer of curiosity in his emerald eyes.

"In a way, yes," The blonde replied, "but that's not important." He extended his hand, smiling faintly, "I'm Jounouchi Katsuya."

"Ryuuji Otogi," the raven haired man gave a hint of a smile before taking the other's hand, shaking it accordingly as he introduced himself.

"Since we've established our names, and that I'm supposedly waiting for someone," Katsuya turned as he spoke, looking back at the Hebrew city. He had a distant look on his face, but aside from that it was if he was looking for something inside of the mess buildings, "why don't you tell me what you're doing out here this late at night? Your clothing tells me you're a high priest for the Pharaoh." He said the last part with a hint of a know-it-all tone of voice.

"What does my clothing have to do with why I may or may not be out here?" He asked, crinkling his forehead at the statement, in turn causing the other to chuckle again.

"Your kind isn't exactly the likeliest of people to roam this late at night," Katsuya pointed out, poking Ryuuji's shoulder as if to help prove his point, "at least not unless it's inside the palace itself."

The Egyptian priest quirked a fine ebony eyebrow upwards at the other, offering politely, "You seem to know a lot."

"Maybe I do, but that still doesn't answer my question of why you are out here this late," The blonde smirked slightly, playing with the other's mind a bit. He may seem a bit on the inane side sometimes, but indeed even he enjoyed messing with people sometimes. Actually, he did it quite often. The aloof act he normally put on was just another way to trick people.

"The palace is too big," Otogi spoke sadly, his emerald eyes slipping closed thoughtfully.

"I suppose it is, but that has nothing to do with the question," Jounouchi noted. He let his eyes scan of the Hebrew 'city' again.

"It has everything to do with me being out here," he stated in a factual tone of voice, "It's too big, I get lonely."

This made Katsuya turned too look at him; his lips tugged down into a small frown and a confused look on his face. "So you come out here, in the middle of the night looking for someone to keep you company? That's real logical," He teased the other, silently pleased with himself with the emerald eyed Egyptian opened his eyes to glare at him.

"I found you to talk to didn't I?" Ryuuji noted, giving him a small smile.

Jounouchi smiled back at him, though not quite sure why he did it exactly. This man seemed nice enough, he supposed. "That you did, but it's not like you'll find me every night," He stuck the tip of his tongue out jokingly.

"I don't come out here every night," Otogi said simply, still smiling sweetly at the other.

"I know," Katsuya stated proudly, as if him knowing where some grave accomplishment, "I do come out here every night, and this is the first time I've seen you."

The other scrunched his nose, a little bit confused, "You just said-" 

"Forget what I say," He said, cutting the Egyptian off. He turned his head to look back at the city.  "They're just words after all."

"You're not going to report me, are you?" Katsuya asked Otogi before he could speak again. His eyes glimmered softly, when he saw a figure moving within the arrangement out houses. This, however, went unnoticed.

"What do you mean?" Ryuuji blinked at the words, looking at him with his head tilted to the side.

"Slaves aren't allowed out here at night, you are a high-ranked palace official, you do the math," Jounouchi replied simply. He fidgeted slightly, feeling suddenly restless as he looked on into the city.

"I won't report you," He spoke in a soft whisper, almost inaudible. 

"If?"

Otogi blinked at the single word. "If? What do you mean 'if'?" He questioned, giving the other an odd look. 

"There's always an 'if'," Katsuya stated softly. 

For a moment, Ryuuji looked off, loosing himself in thought. "I don't have one," He replied looking back at the other giving him a half-smile. 

"You mean you can't think of any," The blonde said, once again in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. He seemed to use that tone of voice a lot, though some of the statements he never was quite sure about.

"I suppose," his eyes blinked open and closed at the other. "Will I see you again?" He asked, though there was an unsure ring to his voice.

"Most likely. If you come out here, that is," Katsuya turned to the Otogi, giving a small wink. He smiled inwardly when he saw a faint red hue make it's way on the raven-haired Egyptian's cheeks.

Suddenly he stretched his arms out, giving a loud fake, but believable yawn. "I'm getting kind of tired," He said with a sleep tone of voice. "I'll see you tomorrow?" 

"Sure," Ryuuji said, blinking for the umpteenth time that night. Jounouchi smiled at him, before running off into the small collection of houses where he, and many other Hebrew slaves lived.

With a watchful eye, the blonde Hebrew made his way through the so-called city. He'd stop whenever he saw a dark or large shadow in an alleyway or if he thought he heard the sound of footsteps. Every time, however, it was nothing but his imagination. 

Forceful hands reached out of an over looked gap between the houses. Moments later Katsuya found himself pressed painfully into a wall. He blinked his honey eyes, feeling a dizzy wave flow over him from the suddenness of the action. Soon he found himself looking into azure eyes that where as cold as death. He smiled.

"What took you so long?" He heard the impatient cold voice that he had grown so used to and fond of said. 

"I could ask you the same," Katsuya mock glared at the other, "I was a little preoccupied," He emphasized the last word with a quirk of a smile as he said it. 

"By what?" The azure-eyed man asked rather brutally. 

"Quite the nosy one aren't we?" Jounouchi asked teasingly, squirming slightly as he felt his arms beginning to tingle, threatening to go numb. He smirked to himself when he felt the hands that where holding him down leave his arms.

"By what?" Again the question was spoken in a forcefully, possessive tone.

"Don't you mean 'by who'?" As before he used a childish tone to question the other, the one that was his 'lover', or really his secret. He heard a growl deep within the other's throat. Naturally, he could not help the small smirk that spread across his face. He leant forward just a little bit putting a fraction of a kiss on the other's lips. "Jealous are we?"

"I just don't like people touching what is mine," The possessiveness in his voice was evident. With a soft sparkle of mischief in his eyes, the blue-eyed man took a step forward, in turn ending up with his body pressed fully against that of Katsuya's.  

The blonde gasped at the motion, but still wrapped his arms around the man in front of him. "Ah," he said simply, frowning mentally as he noted his slightly uneven breaths. Somehow his lover always seemed to gain control over any situation, it was the one thing about him he didn't like at times.

"Would you stop playing games?" It was more of a statement then an actually question.

"Ryuuji Otogi," Jounouchi answered, for a second time, he could not stop the smirk that played itself on his lips. There was another growl heard from his 'lover'. 

"What?" He snapped the word.

"That's why I was late," Katsuya replied as if it was nothing. The angry look on the other's normally emotionless, but smug nonetheless, face showed otherwise. 

"I don't want you to talk to him again," He commanded firmly, his azure eyes narrowing significantly. 

"Who are you to tell me who I can and can not talk to?" Jounouchi spoke quietly, rubbing the side of his nose against his lover's face.

"I'm the keeper of your life, that's who," The blue-eyed man replied, not even a little fazed by the act of the affection.

"Too bad, I already promised him I'd see him tomorrow," Now the blonde had his ocher eyes narrowed right back the other, "he'll report me if I'm not there."

Upon spotting the frown he earned from that comment, Katsuya let out a soft sigh. "It looks like you're not the only one in charge of whither I live or die anymore, Seto," He muttered the half-hearted insult before kissing the other softly. He ran his hands through the soft brown locks of hair, not surprised at all when his kiss was not returned. He pulled away slowly, a sad smile upon his lips. "Goodnight," He whispered before retreating out of the small space and heading back to his house without even giving the other a glance as he left. 

The palace seemed even bigger now. Otogi furrowed his brows as he walked down the corridor, which he also noted seem to go on twice as long as it had previously. Each step he forward felt like a step backwards, and it was starting to unnerve him. It did not help matters that the walkway was exceedingly quiet that night. The silence made him shiver in its uncomfortable hold. 

The late hour of night is what made it so silent. Everyone had long since gone to bed, and the rooms where too hefty to hear any snoring, among other sounds, unless you where right outside their door. He could see doors pass by him, even though it seemed to take a minute. His own room was drawing near.

First he had to pass by that of the Pharaoh's; a task in which he must do with the utmost of silence. He placed two careful footsteps outside of the door, but froze on his third one. From inside there was the faint sound of giggling, a giggling in which Otogi knew quite well. It was that of the Pharaoh's.

Not being able to resist the curiosity, Otogi poked his head inside of the room. It was just inside so he could barely see the two figures out of the corner of his eye. Atop the bed was the Pharaoh, Yugi, pinned by his longhaired lover (1) who had his head titled in, whisper softly into the small ruler's ear.

"Yami's left the palace," he heard the lover whisper, though speaking such serious, unromantic matters his voice was still nothing less then a coo,  "And yesterday, he killed a slave worker for beating an disobedient slave."

"Do we have to talk of such things now?" Yugi whispered back, a flicker of insistence in his eyes. He raised his hand, letting it cup the chin of his lovers after running his fingers frivolously over the skin.  

"I'm afraid, my Pharaoh, that some matters are better to be spoken of then ignored," He placed a kiss on the tip of the multi-colored haired ruler's nose, giving him a roguish grin as he pulled away.

"I'm not suggesting ignoring them," Yugi replied contently, letting his violet eyes slip closed, "on the contrary, I'm just suggesting we put them off until morning."

"And in the morning you will want to put them off until night," The long-haired commented moving one of his hands from the side of the Pharaoh's body to brush it against he cheek.

"I believe I have you to blame for that," He shuttered at the touches as he spoke, letting his eyes lazily half open. 

"Is it my fault that I'm irresistible?" He nipped Yugi's lips, letting his teeth roll of the smooth skin of it before releasing it.

"No but it is your fault I'm in love with you," A small smile placed itself on Yugi's lips as he said the statement. 

"Believe what you want Pharaoh," His lover purposely said the last word in a mocking tone of voice.

"It makes me uncomfortable when you call me Pharaoh," The words where whispered slowly, set off by a soft pout.  

"Think of it as a pet name," He poked the tip of Yugi's nose, causing the other to giggle softly.

"I think if it as a title, for that is what it is. Couldn't you call me by another pet name?" The Pharaoh said in-between small bouts of his tiny laughter. 

"Like what?" A light colored eyebrow quirked itself upwards, grinning devilishly as he asked the question.

"Anything. Perhaps your slave," A suggestive glint was found in Yugi's eye.   

"And here I thought I was the slave and you where my ruler," Yugi's lover teased, chuckling deep within his throat. 

"But you are the ruler of my heart, and my bed." 

"Slave it is then," He mumbled closing the small amount of space between them with a chaste kiss completely forgetting that he had been trying to convince the small Pharaoh that discussion of Yami was in order. 

Emerald eyes tore themselves away from the scene, not willing to see any more. Otogi made his way back to his room, a journey to him that seemed longer then any other. 

~*~*~

(1) Oh guess what? That's all you get to know about Yugi's lover until the next chapter. Well, that and it's not Pegasus!

Was it good? Was it bad? Did anyone know it sucks to put that much dialogue in one chapter? Please review! ^_~


	2. Act Two: Devour

*Gives Renee a vampire Seto plushie* Yes! That's who it is! I hope that's all right with you! You told me to pick it and I had the incredible urge to put the two together. As for the person who asked what Seto was *points to Blue Lagoon Loon*. He is still a High Priest. You see, a Pharaoh could have more then one High Priest because they where servants of the Gods. If anyone needs more information on the subject click on my profile and it has my e-mail address there.

Thank you Taito-Kisses for the Otogi plushies! *hugs them*

Enjoy!

_Flashback. (What happened with Yami!)_

~*~*

~ 

Act Two:

Forever lost in indiscreet truth 

Twisted and revised until it is no more 

We cloud ourselves with foolish lies 

And in only death do we learn our sins 

Or live in hell with a naïve mind.

__

The night he had met her was the night his brother was appointed Prince Regent. The high priests had given her to Yugi as a gift, but had no desire for her. He had his own slave and lover, a young Egyptian boy named Malik; so he had given her to him. Her blue eyes sparkled with the intensity of the strongest flames. She was a free spirit, that girl. 

They had sent her of to his room to wait for when he would arrive. That's where he was heading right now. He let his hands slide upon the stonewalls, letting out a sigh. Her intense eyes had bore into his soul. He shivered pushing aside the silk sheets in which covered the entryway to his bedroom. 

When opening the door he expected to see her there, but an empty room was what greeted him. With a sigh the young prince sat himself down on the bed, letting his burning crimson eyes close. The fiery maiden had slipped right through his fingers and there wasn't a thing he could do about it. 

A small breeze made him shiver involuntarily. Why was it so cold in there? He went to pull covers around him in an effort to warm himself up when he realized, one of the sheets where missing. The young prince frowned, pushing himself off the bed, heading towards the window. The missing sheet was tied to it, used as a rope of the girl to escape.

Curious, he climbed down the sheet into the palace front. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted her sneaking along the wall, then two guards obliviously heading in her general direction. He let go of the sheet-rope dropping down onto the desert stone with a small 'thump' as he landed. "Guards!" He called out to them, making both the two and the young girl jump. 

Fierce blue eyes looked at him worriedly. He caught their gaze for a moment before turning to the two curious looking guards. "I think someone is heading towards the Pharaoh's chambers," He said sternly, only earning a dumbfound look from both at them at his rather odd statement, "check it out!" He yelled the words loudly causing both of them to twitch before running in the general direction of his brother's chambers. (1)

His eyes caught the azure ones again, and he could not help but smile faintly at the look of gratitude in the girl's eyes. "What is your name?" He asked softly. 

"I should leave before they come back," She replied scrunching her nose a bit while her eyes held an unyielding glimmer to them. She turned to leave but was stopped by the feel of a strong arm on her bicep.

"You are safe with me around," He stated matter-of-factly, "but I will let you leave once you tell me your name."

"Anzu, (2)" She said softly. As said, her arm was released and she was on her way.

Hurried footsteps could be heard even from outside the heavy doors of the High Priest's room. He had been pacing around all night, and wouldn't breathe a word as to why. Silent curses fell from his mouth before countless object fell too. The little servant, Ryou, cringed helplessly at the sound of breaking pottery and glass.

"Master Seto…" The small servant boy fidgeted on his spot. To say his master was frightening when he was angry would be an understatement. He was one of the most feared officials in Egypt, even more so when his was angry and still even worse when no one knew what he was angry about. A small squeak of surprise escaped Ryou's lips as he jumped back upon almost getting hit on the head with one of the many things Seto had been throwing. "Master Seto… calm down please…" He muttered pathetically.

The infuriated brunette continued to pace around the room in a destructive matter like he hadn't even heard the small boy's pleas. He had lost control, the one thing that had kept him sane for so many years. Control was all that he had; it was all that he desired. Yet it was easily snatched from his hands by the one who had gained the role of High Priest easier then he could've imagined.

He knelt himself upon the cold stone floors, staring off at the wall, eyes void of any hint of emotion. He was beyond that of feeling rage at this point. He was loosing. He, Seto the High Priest was losing his power of a simple Hebrew slave. "Master Seto…" the soft voice of Ryou spoke to him again. The small servant placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Seto cringed at the touch. Sympathy, no, pity, was not something that he wanted. Least of all from one who was supposed to be a servant. Icy azure eyes narrowed down it a glare at the hand. He raised his own and slapped away. Ryou hissed slight at the stinging tingle that coursed through it from the sudden and harsh slap. 

"Forgive me, I did not mean to bring you discomfort," he bowed his head slightly, "Would you like me to straiten up now Master?" 

"Do as you wish! It means nothing to me," Ryou could not help but cringe at the harsh tone of voice his master had used. 

"But master, I can only do as you tell me to," The silver haired boy commented with a quiet voice, "that is why I am here. That is why Pharaoh Yugi hired me, to serve you and nothing else."

The brunette turned his head to look into gentle coffee colored eyes. He glared, "Leave and do as you wish. That is my order." 

Ryou lowered his head sadly, giving a small bow before muttering, "As you wish master." He turned slowly on his heel towards the exit, taking a step forward in retreat. 

"Wait," The brunette priest commanded firmly, "there is something that I would like you to do for me." He paused waiting to see if the boy was listening, the halt in the servant's retreat told him to continue. "Go to the town of the Hebrews, find a blonde male slave named Katsuya and bring him here."

The boy made a small squeak in protest. "But Master Seto…" he sputtered, "Slaves are not allowed in the palace, you know that. Only servants, summoned townspeople, royalty and advisers are!"

"I am very well aware of that Ryou!" Seto snapped causing the boy to jump backwards in fright, "But do not question my orders! Go and fetch him now!"

With a squeal of fear the small silver-haired servant scurried out of the room. He didn't even bother to watch where he was going as he walked. A squeak made it's way out of his throat as he ran right into a rather slender person, sending them both tumbling backwards and onto their butts.

"I'm terribly sorry," Ryou bowed his head, too embarrassed to even look at the person he had just run into.

"Don't worry about it Ryou," A calm but vaguely disgruntled familiar voice said to him. The servant boy lifted his head to meet the vibrant emerald eyes of the second high priest, Ryuuji.

The small boy made an incomprehensible sound before covering his mouth with his hands for a moment in utter shock. He had just run over his other master. He moved his hand aside, bowing his head again in shame. "I'm sorry Master Otogi, I really should pay more attention to where I'm going."

"Honestly Ryou, don't worry about," He smiled even though the servant was not looking at him, "I am sure whatever it was that would put you in such a hurry is important. Run along now."

Ryou picked himself off the floor, dusting his clothing off briefly before bending over for a short moment then scurrying of again. "Such an odd boy," Otogi said to himself before heading to what was most like going to be a dreadful meeting with the Pharaoh.

With much haste, but not without watching where he was going this time, Ryou made his way to the settlement of Hebrew's. It wasn't long before he had found someone to lead him to the blonde slave's quarters. He had been lucky enough to find a slave that knew him after all speaking to three slaves prier. 

"Thank you," he muttered softly, bowing as usual and what felt like the hundredth time that day. He approached the stone house, lifting his hand and knocking against its wooden door.

The door opened abruptly causing the jumpy boy to leap in the air in shock. After catching his breath he looked at the red haired girl that had answered the door, and blinked. "Umm.. I'm looking for Katsuya," he said softly, she smiled.

"Follow me, I'll show you to him," She replied sweetly taking Ryou by the arm and dragging him off in the direction Katsuya, who Ryou assumed was her older brother, was in. After a few short minutes she stopped, releasing his arm. "Here you go, he should be just around the corner there." 

With another humble smile she waved goodbye to the servant boy and all but skipped back to the house. Timidly, though he didn't understand why, Ryou made his way around the corner. Sure enough there was the blonde sitting down in the sand and staring off into the distance.

"Shouldn't you be working?" Ryou asked, furrowing his brow a bit.

Katsuya looked over his shoulder at the silver haired boy and shook his head. "None of the slave workers seem to care." A silver eyebrow was quirked up at him as he spoke. With a sigh he looked back off into the endless hills of sand, "I think most of them have seen me with Seto once or twice. They're too afraid to come near me, I suppose. So really, I could just sit here all day if I wanted."

"Don't you think that's unfair to the other slaves?" Ryou crossed his arms slightly, momentarily forgetting that he was supposed to be summoning the boy to Seto's dwelling. 

"I suppose, but it's just me and my sister," Jou smiled sadly as he picked himself off the sand, "it gives me a chance to take care of her." 

"Is your sister ill?" The small boy couldn't help but the ask the question.

"No, but she is young and doesn't know how to look after herself too well," There was a small chuckle after the words, then a pause. "So what exactly are you doing here?"

Coffee brown eyes blinked open and closed a few times before Ryou muttered what sounded like 'oh yeah!'. "Master Seto requests your presence," He stated dryly. 

"Should've figured you where a palace servant," The blonde huffed slightly before taking a step forward, "And don't you mean 'demands' my presence? You and I both know High Priest Seto Kaiba does not request anything." Ryou could not help but giggle at the comment. It wasn't very often that he saw someone speak of Seto in such a way. Most people would be afraid he'd or someone close to him would hear and they'd be killed on the spot. The brunette seemed to have that sort of power over people.

"Follow me," Ryou said slightly cheery as he began to lead the blonde boy back to the palace. Once there he stopped outside the High Priest's room. "He's right inside," he said softly, "Just be careful what you say, he's in a bad mood."

"That's nothing new," Jou commented, then smiled, "Don't worry, I'll be careful." He gave a small wink before entering. Ryou retreated to find if his other master, Otogi needed anything not long after.

Amber eyes grew wide at the condition the room was in. Only a few things where left in tact, all others where shattered on the floor. "Looks like someone had a bit of a temper tantrum," the blonde commented, leaning on the back of the wall. Honestly, he didn't want to move in fear of scraping up his feet since he happened to be barefoot at the moment. 

He blinked when he didn't hear in any snide comeback, or really, the brunette at all. "Seto?" He asked taking a few steps forward to see if he was maybe crouched behind the small part of the bed in which would over him. The spot was empty. "How rude, dragging me all the out here to an empty room," Jou crossed his arms and sighed, crawling onto the bed. He'd just have to wait until Seto got back. He hated waiting.

Not long after, he felt his eyelids become heavy and yawned loudly. "Maybe he won't mind if I sleep until he gets here," the blonde muttered under his breath, letting thick brown lashes fall over his eyes. With another small yawn he drifted off into a deep sleep.

Nighttime in Egypt was always his favorite time. He enjoyed looking out into the distant sands during the day, but when the sunset and the moon rose, the sands showed their true glory. 

Katsuya placed his chin in his own hands, his elbows propping them up and let out a long content sigh. There where sometimes he wished that he could sit there all night without a worry staring off into the distance. He let his moonlit ocher eyes slip closed in a daze. 

There was a soft wind that night, whispering gently in his ears. He always noticed how whenever it was windy it felt like the Gods where talking to the people. Try as he might to understand, it seemed that he would never be able to; truly, a sad, sad thing.

"Katsuya?" A gentle but stern voice said to him. It was strange; the sudden voice didn't even startle him from his thoughts. "How can you look off into the desert as you do so often? Its just sand after all."

"It's not just sand," The blonde boy muttered lazily, "its beautiful sand, the kind of beauty that I can never get enough of." His eyes opened and he looked over to his raven haired 'companion'. "Just like your beauty Ryuuji."

In the darkness, it was almost impossible for Jounouchi to catch the small blush that crept over the others cheeks. He raised his hand placing two fingers gently under the other's jaw, using them to draw him closer into a soft kiss. 

There was a small groan emitted from the other's throat. If it was in protest or relief, Katsuya could not tell, but he still took full advantage of it. He rolled his tongue lovingly over the other's lip before slipping it fully in-between them. His hand had moved from its place on the priest's chin, and down onto his shoulder along with his other one. He pushed with both of them successfully sliding the other's robes off.

They parted, but only for a second before their lips met again in a more determined and demanding kiss. Jou lowered Ryuuji down onto the sand, climbing on top of him, a leg on each side of the priest's waist. He felt his own clothing being removed and then "Katsuya…" a strong voice had spoken to him.

Ocher eyes blinked open sleepily. He frowned in disappointment when his own eyes had met the wintry azure ones of Seto. "Hello there," Katsuya whispered, his words slurred from still being half asleep. He forced a smile, planting a small kiss on his lover's cheek. He wanted to go back to the dream. It was less complicated then what he and Seto had, if you could call what they had more then lust or in Seto's case, possession. "Where were you?"

"It's not important," The brunette muttered letting himself fully rest atop of the blonde.

"Whatever you say Seto," Jounouchi muttered not believing him. There was no point in questioning however. Seto was beyond stubborn, and even that was an understatement. "So why did you call me here?"

Frozen cobalt eyes narrowed at as if offended. "Do I need a reason other then wanting to see you?" He all but snapped the question.

"It doesn't matter to me if that's your only reason or not, but I know you Seto, you never just want to see me," he replied, a deep frown embedded on his lips. He wanted to go back to sleep and finish that dream more then ever now. Seto was up to something, and he didn't exactly seem like he was up to letting Katsuya in on it any time soon.

"Apparently you don't know me as well as you think you do, because that is the only reason I called you here," He spoke it softer that time, leaning down and placing an almost chaste kiss on the blonde's forehead. It was something so unlike Seto that where as it made Jounouchi practically melt from the affection it made him even more suspicious. 

"You're a bad liar," the words came out sweeter then he had wanted them to, a lot sweeter. It was just shy of being an 'I love you' tone.

"You're delusional," Seto retorted.

"Maybe so, but you're still a liar," Jounouchi whispered the same way as he had before, feeling the same sensation starting to swarm over him as it always did when he was around Seto. It was something that was out of his control, and most like Seto's too, not that he'd ever admit it.

His eyes fluttered instinctively close when he felt two lips press against his own. It wasn't something you could describe; it wasn't soft or firm, bitter or sweet, it wasn't anything really. It was like it was whenever Seto had kissed him, spectacular but he always felt like something was missing.

Katsuya pulled away, biting down on his lower lip for a moment. "Tell me something," He said softly. 

"Hmm?" 

"Do you love me?" Jounouchi asked, a determined look in his eyes. He felt his heart sink in his chest when Seto looked away from him. 

"Why do you ask?" He replied with his own question, turning his head back to look at the blonde boy, but not into his eyes, nor his face.

"Just answer the question," Katsuya spoke, knowing his voice probably sounded something like a whimper, "And don't lie." He knew what was coming, that was what was missing in the kiss that was why he was dreaming about someone else.

"No, Katsuya, I don't love you," Seto said coldly, emotionlessly, but still refused to look at him directly. Jou flinched beneath him, letting his eyes slip shut for a moment.

He took in a sharp, deep breath before saying, "Look me in the eye and say it."

Their eyes met and he repeated, "I don't love you."

Again, Katsuya let his eyes close, not opening them this time. "That's too bad, because I love you," he whispered so quietly, it could barely be heard. It was a few minutes before he said or did anything else "Get off of me," he demanded, not feeling quite like doing much himself. 

To his surprise, Seto did and as soon as he was, he bolted. "Katsuya?" A small voice that could only belong to Ryou reached his ears. The small boy grasped onto his arms. "Are you alright?" He asked frowning a bit.

Jounouchi wanted to laugh. Here was a boy he had just met and he was already treating him with more care then Seto had the whole time he had known him. "I'm fine," he breathed the words, almost falling over. Ryou opened his mouth to say something, but didn't get a chance. "Could you do me a favor?"

"Ummm," the boy bit down on his lip nervously, "I might be able to."

"Could you take me to Ryuuji's chambers?" He asked softly, "That is if you know where they are."

"Sure," Ryou smiled faintly, "Just follow me."

"Thank you," Katsuya replied softly. It wasn't very long until they reached the High Priest's quarters. The blonde drew in a deep breath, it was far enough away from Seto's to feel comfortable, but he was still nervous.

"Master Otogi," Ryou greeted as he walked into the chambers, gesturing for Jou to wait for him outside. 

"What is it?" The raven-haired priest asked looking up from his bed. 

"You have a visitor," The servant boy replied adding to it after gaining a questioning eyebrow quirked upwards at him, "His name is Katsuya."

After blinking a few times, Otogi vacated his spot on his bed and rushed out the door. "Katsuya," He smiled softly, "What are you doing here?"

The blonde boy looked at him, smiling sadly, "Do you think I could stay with you tonight?" There was a small nod before he was led into the room itself.

~*~*~

(1)Making Yugi the Pharaoh earlier then he was supposed to be because I forgot until I started working on this chapter. *sigh* 

(2)Yes, I put Yami with Anzu. The role of Moses is far too big of one for me to mess with. I refuse to make him homosexual in this simply for that reason. Hate me if you want. Oh and I'm making things happen somewhat like the movie "Prince of Egypt" simply because it's easier to fill in gaps. 

Was it good? Was it bad? Let me know! 


	3. Act Three: Delirium

Any notes this time…? Actually, I have two! First one, Seto will not appear in the chapter unfortunately. ~_~ Some evil wife of mine poked his eye out. Well, that's not the real reason, but hey it's a good excuse. Second, Yugi's crazy! I'm serious! No one seemed to catch that in the first chapter. Then again I didn't make it apparent… but he is. You'll understand once you read. 

Total chapters planned for this story has been set at nine. If I happen to go over then everyone will get to watch me twitch and die a horrible death because I need to learn to stop doing that! 

_Flashback._

Act Three:  
Denial in which we seek protection eternal  
Shielding ourselves from what is real  
Binding oneself to endless lies  
A life in such a way, does not appeal  
Our hearts break with the slightest push  
Penetrating the soft fabric  
Gentle hearts made not of glass  


"I don't want to sleep on the bed!" Katsuya yelled stubbornly. If one were to take a close enough look, they would've sworn he was pouting. He had his arms folded childishly across his chest and his nose stuck in the air, acting exactly like a five year old boy would. 

"Would you stop being so hopelessly obdurate?" Otogi yelled right back at him, pushing a piece of his raven hair behind his ear in an attempt to calm his frustrations.

"I'm not the one being stubborn. If anything it's you who's the stubborn one!" At this Ryuuji could do nothing but growl. This pointless brawl had been going on for over an hour, and quite frankly, he was beyond tired of it.

"Fine!" Otogi declared throwing his hands in the air defeated. "Have it your way! I'll sleep on the bed." He all but stomped over flopping onto the soft fabric.

The blonde grinned in victory, and went to take his place on the floor. Of course this so-called-victory was only half lived. He whined loudly as he felt himself fall right on top of Ryuuji. All the blood his face rushed to his cheeks tinting them a dark red. He tried his hardest to ignore how close they were right then. Given that he was directly on top of him, and for some reason his legs didn't want to work, it was rather hard. "I thought you said you'll sleep on the bed," he croaked out over the large knot that formed in his throat.

"I am planning on sleeping on the bed, as are you, and that's not negotiable!" Otogi stated firmly, clearly still agitated about the whole thing. Katsuya gave a small nod. Not that he had to, he just felt obligated for some reason. His body for some reason did not want to move for reasons unknown to him. He did however, having an irking suspicion that it had to do with the dream he had early in Seto's bed. 

All he could will himself to do was study the man underneath him. So that is what he did. He took in the curve of his face, or at least the little of it that was visible to him since all light had been put out long ago. Strangely, he found the other's lips remarkably entrancing. "Katsuya?" Ryuuji asked, his emerald eye blinking closed. 

"Kiss me…" The please came unplanned, and certainly surprised both of them. Inside Katsuya was quaking with fear though his exterior showed him much braver then he was. He hadn't meant to say it. Now that he had, he wanted it.

Otogi's voice failed him, his mouth opening and closing idiotically as he searched for something to say. "What?" was all he had managed to get out. Mentally he was scolding himself for not thinking of something better to say or even doing something! He must've looked like such a fool! 

"Shh…" The blonde placed his finger over his lips. "Just kiss me," He whispered again though he did not wait for the other to comply. On the contrary, he removed his finger from atop the others lips and replaced them with his own.

Unlike his dream he could feel the softness of them. They where soft, but slightly chapped, rough underneath him. They tasted of something that could only be described as Ryuuji. Possibly such things as sunshine, rainbows after a soft rainfall, flowers when the bloom in the springtime or anything else equally ridiculous for a taste, but wonderful in spite of it. 

He pulled away, reluctantly. In the midst of enjoying the sweet sensation produced from kissing Ryuuji, Katsuya much to his disappointment, realized that his kiss had not been returned. "I'm sor-" he began to apologize. Two relentless lips pressed harshly against his own cut him off. 

Slender fingers ran through his blonde tresses as the hands the belonged pushed him forward demandingly. A moan slithered its way out of Ryuuji's throat when he pulled away. They lowered, attacking Katsuya's jaw line with an overwhelming ferocity. The blonde whimpered helplessly at the ministrations. His head titled back as mewls of passion escaped his lips.

"Katsuya!" The said blonde twitched slightly rolling onto his side. Just great, he was starting to hear voice in his heads. "Katsuya, wake up!" The voice called again. He mumbled something along the lines of 'go away stupid voice…' before pushing his head deeper into the fabric. (1)

He paused. A blanket? He shot strait up, effectively knocking the back of his head with the front of the small servant boy, Ryou's. It had been just a dream. A very nice dream, but a dream all the same. Again it was about Ryuuji. He crinkled his forehead in thought. It was strange, he had just met the raven-haired priest and he was already having dreams about him. With Seto he hadn't started dreaming of him in such ways until they had…

"Katsuya!" Ryou called to him extremely annoyed with being ignored. The blond blinked, looking at him with a confused expression. "You were grunting in your sleep," he explained, his hard expression softening. "I was worried so I woke you up."

"Grunting?" Katsuya wondered aloud. Outside the room it could probably be conceived that way, so he turned to the silver haired servant and smiled. "Thank you Ryou, I was having a nightmare. I'm sorry for making you worry."

Ryou gave a small nod. "Master Ryuuji should be back in a few minutes if you would like to wait," he turned to leave, "though if you would rather not stay I can inform him of your leave."

"I'll stay," Katsuya half muttered. With that the silver haired servant smiled and headed out the door. He fell back onto the soft sheets, staring at the ceiling above him. "Why do I keep having these dreams…?" He asked himself squeezing his eyes shut. 

A scowl placed it self on his soft features. 'No, Katsuya, I don't love you', the words from the night before replayed themselves in his mind. "Baka…" He cursed, "I know this is all your fault."

(Quite a few years later)

_An angel appeared in flame out of the midst of a bus, before him. The bush had caught flame but did not burn. Yami turned to see for how could one not look upon such a sight. The bush was indeed on fire but was not consumed by this flame. _

When the Lord saw that he turned to see he spoke to him from the bush. "Yami," he said, "here I am." 

All Yami could do was look on in awe. He walked forward and was called onto again. "Take off thy shoes for this is holy ground you stand upon," the Lord said to him in his divine voice. There was the unspoken words, 'I am God,' that called inside of Yami's mind. He covered his face, afraid to look upon God.

"I have seen the anguish of my people which are in Egypt," the Lord declared, "I know their sorrows and have heard their cry reason of their taskmasters. I come down to convey them out of the hands of the Egyptians, to bring them onto land fine and large.

"Behold the cry of the child of Israel has come onto me and I have seen the oppression where the Egyptians have oppressed them. 

"I send thee unto the Pharaoh Yugi, so thou shall free the children of Israel from the from the grasps of Egypt."

Yami could do not but stand amazed. "Who am I to go unto the Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel from Egypt?" He asked. And who was he but a mere Israelite himself? 

The palace hadn't changed a bit since he had left years ago. Everyone was always busy. Hundreds of slaves working until they thought their backs would break, and then just work more. The servants of the palace would run around rushed to get whatever their masters had told them, the young one Ryou, working twice as hard as any. 

All of the busy life seemed to come to a halt as soon as Yami began to walk inside of its walls. The servants would stop and stair in awe at the prince they had lost so many years ago. 

_The people of Egypt along with the Hebrews looked on at Yami in utter shock. Below him lied the lifeless body of one of the slave workers. His crimson eyes were wide upon the corpse. Had he really just done that? His head lifted, looking at everyone around him. They were all looking at him! He had to run. He had to get away from their judging eyes. _

Yugi, the one he had called brother for so long, had a child. That was one of the many things Yami had heard. His boy was now about to turn six years old. He hadn't even noticed that much time had passed. The other thing he heard was the boy had long black hair and deep violet eyes. He was the son of the Lady Isis, a free woman but sister to Yugi's lover Malik, and the heir to the throne of Egypt, Yugi. He heard all of these things as he ventured to the palace. The Hebrews would whisper as he walked by, looking at him with wide eyes. 

They all looked upon his thin face and beaten hair, the wooden rod he carried in his hand and the poorly made robes. He walked past them and all they could do was stand amazed. He glanced at them feeling a slight nervousness coming over him, but he swallowed it. He was here to do the will of God.

Then Yami reached the throne chamber, taking in the familiar hieroglyphs, the high walls, the throne at the top of it, and too had not changed. But as he came closer to the throne itself, he discovered that the Pharaoh had. "Yugi?" He whispered bemused by the site of the small boy with the tri-colored hair on the thrown. Next to him the slave Malik kneeling beside him with his hands stroking the young Pharaoh's hair.

Those lavender eyes narrowed at him. Venomous they were, protective. Malik never let anyone come near Yugi unless it was absolutely necessary or out of his hands. Most people would've coward at his deadly gaze. Everyone knew that Malik was a little less then sane.

Yami walked forward more, stopping only feet before the two with his rod in hand. Finally Yugi titled his head upwards to look at him. His violet eyes, which had been brimming with tears, brightened a great bit. "Yami!" he cried moving away from the arms of Malik and up to Yami pulling him into a tight hug. "You have returned. To what do I owe such an honor?" 

"I have come here to serve the will of the Lord God," Yami said, pulling away from the small one's embrace with a heavy look in his eyes, "Let his people go."

It was then Malik intervened. He wrapped his tanned, slender arms around the small figure of Yugi, pulling him away from his 'brother'. Violet eyes looked up at him displeased. "Malik, what are you doing? Let go of me, I must speak with Yami," the Pharaoh Yugi whispered as not to let Yami hear what he was saying. He didn't quite understand why, but he didn't want it reaching his brother's ears.

"My Pharaoh," the blonde slave whispered getting down on his knees, cradling Yugi's face in both of his hands, "do not listen to his foolish banter. I warn you, he may be your brother but releasing the Hebrews would only bring trouble. Do not let his talk of God and his people cloud your mind. He is here to trick you. God has nothing to do with it. He is a Hebrew so he wishes that you let his kind go."

The small ruler looked at Malik in half-disbelief then back at Yami with sorrow filled eyes. Once again he turned to his blonde slave. "But Yami is kind," he whispered softly, feeling as if his heart was being ripped in two.

"How is he kind?" Malik asked, a bit of malice heard in his voice, "Was he kind when he abandoned you, left you alone in the palace to take on all the responsibilities of Egypt? Was he kind to choose people he knew nothing of over you who he had know and loved all his life? He may have been kind in the past, but he has deceived you already, my Pharaoh. Do not let him do it again." Yugi opened his mouth once again to begin to protest. He did not want to have to make this sort of decision. It was far too heavy a burden. "My Pharaoh do my eyes and heart deceive me? Would you choose one who has hurt you in such unbearable was over I who has served and loved you so loyal?" Malik placed a kiss on Yugi's head, "Pharaoh do not break my heart so. I do not believe I could bear it."

A small squeak of defeat escaped Yugi's lips. Malik was right; Yami had in a way betrayed him and Malik… he was always there. He was always around whenever Yugi needed him willing to do anything he asked of him. "You're right," Yugi said softly under his breath. The strong hands that were holding his cheeks retreated.

Pharaoh Yugi made his way back to where Yami could better see him. He put on a stern face, one in which he only used when conducting matters concerning his people. "Yami, I cannot let God's people go," He declared, "leave now dear brother for there is nothing I can do for you." 

"I am afraid I cannot do that," Yami replied. "I will tell you again, let release his people!" 

"I cannot do what you what you ask of me! It is too much!" Yugi yelled the words unintentionally. He could feel the choking pain of tears threatening to spill over in his throat and a sharp sting of the liquid in the corner of his eyes. "Leave now before I am forced to remove you!" Yami opened his mouth yet again to object to what the young Pharaoh was saying. "Do not assume I will not do as I say!" Yugi called out, "I beg of you leave me now!"

With these words Yami realized there was nothing he could do at that moment. He would have to leave and return sometime later, hopefully sometime when Malik wasn't around to bend Yugi to his every wish. "Farewell, we will meet again," he said a small flash of warning was found in his eyes as he turned to leave the palace. 

As Yami turned and left, Yugi finally began to let the tears that had burned his vision fall over. At the sight of this, Malik gathered him into his arms kissing the salty beads of liquid away. "Now Pharaoh do not fret," he whispered into his ear, "it was for the best." He pulled away and smiled. Well, it was the closest thing to a genuine smile that Malik could muster. It turned out looking more like a deformed smirk then anything else.

~*~*~

Nighttime had once again fallen over the cities of Egypt. Jounouchi once again had found himself sitting on the same sand hill he had when meeting Seto, met Ryuuji and now talked to the raven-haired priest many times on. Absently he wondered exactly how many times he had sat on this hill with Otogi since he had lost Seto.

A deep scowl placed itself on his features. It had been along time since he had thought about the brunette. Still somehow there was an every-lingering pain from the words he had spoken years ago. Why he hadn't been able to get over him after all this time was far beyond Katsuya.

"Katsuya." The friendly yet stern voice made Jou turn around abruptly. He was greeted with the smiling face of the raven-haired priest, Otogi. The smile that made itself known on the blonde's face was inventible, and seeming to become a routine. 

It was the same as it was why he still felt the sharp twinge of sadness whenever he thought of Seto. Whenever he saw Ryuuji before him he could do nothing but smile. There was something about the gracious nature Otogi had about him that lit up his face. He knew that if needed the priest could be quite forceful and cruel, having been on the end of it more then once. Still the thought was not discouraging.

"It's a beautiful night tonight," Katsuya said softly turning his gaze back to the sands and sky.

"I don't understand how you can look off like this so often," Ryuuji said suddenly taking a seat down next to the blonde. Ocher eyes widened greatly at the faintly familiar words. "Its just sand after all," he turned his head to meet the gaze of the startled blonde.

Immediately Jou looked downwards, a faint pink coloring his cheeks. "It's not just sand," he muttered quietly, "its beautiful sand. The kind of beauty I can never get enough of…" The words just rolled of his tongue as he recalled the dream he had, had so long ago. He lifted his head to look into the eyes of a now smiling Ryuuji. "Like your beauty Ryuuji."

The emerald orbs he was gazing into widened considerably. At that time of night, it was hard to tell, but Jounouchi could see the signs of a deep blush tinting those normally pale white cheeks. He was silent for quite a while. His hands fidgeted in his lap. Katsuya wondered what it was that was going through his mind right about then. 

"Can I kiss you?" Ryuuji asked shyly, lowering his head so his hair hid his eyes. There wear filled to the brim with the nervousness he felt at that moment. It was something he did not wish to show the blonde.

There was never a spoken answer. The only close Otogi had gotten was the press of two lips against his own and the hands that cradled the back of his head. 

~*~*~

(1)Did you honestly believe I would make it that easy for them?

Yes, this one was short, but it was all I could really think of to get done. The last scene was overly fluffy, I know. It makes me sick too. ^^ Anyways, tell me what you think!


	4. Act Four: Decompose

Sorry for the delay this time around. I have seemed to stumble across a wee bit of a writer's block. I shall be holding back on the plagues for another chapter! Therefore this chapter picks up where the last one left off. Fluff abounds… I still stand by Yugi being a wee bit on the crazy side. It's more evident in this chapter then the last however. 

Act Four:  
Temptation is the foolish man's end,  
Distracted by beauty away from that of import.  
The foolish man is foolish for giving in.  
What killed the foolish man?  
Not being able to take his eyes away!

The dimmest amount of sunlight crept over the sands. The sky was colored a pinkish orange in it's early morning light. A slight heat built up against Katsuya's cheek causing him to groan and turn over in his sleep, bits of sand falling off of his bare backside. Words could not describe how much he despised the morning light. 

Jounouchi sat up slowly, more bits of loose grains of sand dropping off of his back in the process. There was a slight aching pain in his backside as he did so, but he easily pushed it aside having grown used to it, as time with Seto had passed. There had been times when the brunette priest had decided to be particularly violent—not that he was complaining. It always seemed hurt the next day no matter how many times they had done it.

This time however it wasn't from the fact that the night before had been rough. On the contrary it had been quite gentle from what Jounouchi recalled. It was just the last time he had slept with someone was when… His amber eyes closed tightly. Katsuya didn't want to think about the last time he had slept with anyone. Thinking of the priest was still far too painful even if he was starting to grown a liking for another one at the moment. Ryuuji was sweet but Seto was passionate, possessive. Over time he had grown fairly attached to him. So even after all the time had passed he still loved him. Jounouchi missed him greatly. 

"Katsuya," the concerned voice of Otogi broke through his thoughts and his honey-hued eyes to snap open. It was only then that he noticed the slender arms that had wrapped around him and the head that rested against his shoulder. "Are you all right? You look troubled," the raven-haired male questioned worriedly.

"I'm fine," Katsuya murmured dryly. Ryuuji frowned at his rude way of replying. He hadn't realized he had done anything to upset the blonde in the first place. The reaction had been seemingly offensive in his eyes because of that. A sigh escaped Katsuya's lips. He titled he head back to lean against Otogi's shoulder. He really hadn't meant to be so unkind to him. "I'm sorry, Ryuuji," he muttered letting his eyes fall closed once again, "I'm just not in a very good mood."

A small chuckle left Otogi's throat at that comment. "I can certainly see that," he teased earning him a half-hearted elbow in the chest. He let out a fake sound of pain, which caused the blonde to laugh slightly having caught that it was indeed faked. After a few brief moments the soft laughter had died down and the thoughtful look once again adorned Jounouchi's features. "What is it that has caused you to be in such a bad mood?" Ryuuji asked, nestling his nose into the crook of Jou's neck. 

"Memories," Katsuya stated rather dreadfully, "memories in which I didn't have to remember. I often to find that they are painful to think about." He felt the small press of lips against his jaw. It caused him to smile faintly.

"Thinking apparently isn't one of your better attributes," Ryuuji teased laughing pleasantly. Emerald eyes twinkled at the mock-glare that was sent his way, his lips tugging into a smirk. "You're adorable when you're offended," he complimented. 

Amber eyes opened lazily at the comment. Jounouchi's head turned to the side to meet the warm emerald eyes that awaited him. "You are far too generous with me for your own good," the blonde replied, light tints of red showing across the bridge of his nose and cheeks. 

At this Ryuuji shrugged, grinning impishly. "Funny, I thought I couldn't be generous enough," he stated in a mere whisper. He pressed forward, his lips grazing Katsuya's lightly. A soft moan escaped the blonde's lips. He was simply amazed at the sensation that even the lightest of kisses from the priest created. 

Jou himself leaned in this time, desiring more of that sweet contact only to growl in frustration as Otogi kept pulling his head away. He heard the other's rich laugh fill the air again and his honey eyes narrowed into a glare. He certainly didn't find it funny, not even the slightest bit. He was quite pleased when the other fulfilled his desire for another of the sweet kisses.

Another moan from Katsuya was heard as thick brown lashes fell over honey colored eyes, concealing them completely. He let himself fall quite literally into the kiss, the two males' bare skin meeting the desert sands. Another laugh escaped the raven-haired male at this act, though it was swallowed completely but Jounouchi's ever-persistent mouth. Eventually—meaning seconds later—Ryuuji gave into the kiss too, slipping his tongue through already parted lips, teasing Jou's with slow, soft caresses which were eagerly returned. Gentle strokes of Otogi's hand against Jounouchi's arm heightened the light-hearted sensation of the kiss. 

Reluctantly the raven-haired male parted from the kiss, knowing that if he stayed away any longer the Pharaoh would worry. Yugi had always been an odd one like that. For some reason he felt the need to panic if even one of his priests or priestesses were to turn up missing for more then an hour.

"Regretfully, Katsuya I must bid you farewell, midday shall be approaching soon," Ryuji stated, his words taking the form of a whisper. He felt as if he spoke any louder the moment would be ruined.

The blonde frowned at him. "Midday is still a ways away. It is morning, I promise you," Katsuya declared, grinning as the priest shook his head. He shifted so his arms were completely encircling Otogi's body and his weight fully atop him effectively pinning him down. "I don't wish for you to go," he muttered with a soft sigh.

"I don't wish to either, but I must," Ryuuji replied, attempting to slip out of the blonde's arms. The grasp only tightened, pulling him further into the embrace. "Katsuya," he said, "don't make it harder to leave then it already is. I have wanted to be with you since that first day we met on the sands. For years I watched you wallow in that sorrow of yours, wanting to ease it but not being able to do anything. Yesterday I didn't see that sorrow in your dark eyes. I saw happiness. It's makes it that much harder to leave you knowing that I really can ease that sorrow."

With a groan of defeat and much disinclination Jounouchi released his hold on Otogi waver so that the raven-haired male could slip from his grasp. The said male muttered a small thanks as he did so. Quickly Ryuuji slipped on his clothing—it didn't take long at all considering Egyptians wore hardly anything—then departed. A small kiss was placed on Jou's forehead before he did so.

Katsuya watched the priest's retreating figure still silently wishing that the male didn't have to leave. Once Otogi was out of sight he let himself slip back onto the sand. He felt bad about still loving Seto when he knew he could so easily fall in love with Ryuuji also. Seto didn't love him. Jounouchi had known that for a long time now. Even still the strong feelings he held for him never faded. For that he felt awful. Otogi had always done his best to comfort him. He was sweet, so unlike Seto. How was it possible to fall for two people who were so very different? The answer to that question, Jounouchi didn't know. 

===============

Black hair fell over dark blue eyes. The woman in which those dark locks belonged to pushed them back out of her face in faint annoyance. "Isis, my Queen," a deep voice bellowed, "if you do not keep still I will never be able to finish painting you for Pharaoh." Warm deep blue eyes turned upwards to face the painter who had addressed her.

It had seemed to Isis that she had been lying in that uncomfortable position there for days. Her arms were growing tired from keeping them in the same upright position for so long and her legs dreary with holding the weight of her body on one side. "I am aware of that Pegasus," she replied bitterly as she returned to her arm back to its previous position above her head, "can we not take a break. My limbs ache."

"My Queen, I am afraid we can't do that. Pharaoh wants this portrait done as soon as possible," Pegasus explained. His mahogany eyes were locked onto the canvas majority of the time aside from the breaks he took to look back at the Queen. "You are his most beloved wife. He wishes to have something for him and his child to gaze upon."

Another sigh escaped Isis's painted lips. She saw no way to earn a break. Whatever the Pharaoh wanted is what the people of Egypt listened to. There were no exceptions or in-betweens. 

The sound of someone clearing their throat was heard in the room. Isis tilted her head to look in the direction the noise had come from. There she found the servant boy, Ryou at the doorway of her chamber. "Queen Isis," Ryou said softly, "the Pharaoh requests your presence."

Isis blinked at those words. It was not very often that the Pharaoh summoned her. At least not during the day though he had tendencies to summon her at night. Aside from that he normally spoke to her during dinners. "What for?" she asked, shifting from the spot in why she lied and pushing herself up into a seated position. The complaints of Pegasus were heard in the background but she waved them off with ease.

"I wouldn't know my Queen," Ryou replied, "I am a servant of the High Priests of Sutekh, Hor, and the High Priestess of Eset and Hathor. Pharaoh merely had Priest Seto send me off to fetch you. Though he did tell me that Pharaoh said it was of dire import."

"Forgive me Ryou," she said with the faintest of smiles on her painted lips, "I should've known you would not receive commands from Pharaoh himself. Very well, if it is as important to Pharaoh as you say it is, I shall go. Lead the way." She pushed herself up into a standing position then turned to Pegasus, "I shall return later and when I do I will expect you to be prepared in proceeding with the portrait." 

"Most certainly," Pegasus said with a nod of his head, "I shall await your return, my Queen." With that Ryou exited, Isis not far behind him.

The two walked down the long corridors of the woman's palace until they were out of it. It seemed like ages to Isis before they had finally made it to one of the Pharaoh's many chambers. Respectfully, Ryou bowed before Yugi and Seto, one of his masters, before leaving them in privacy. 

Almost immediately Yugi rushed over to her, wrapping his small arms around her waist with his head pressing against her chest. "What is it my Pharaoh?" Isis asked, concerned with the way her husband had rushed into her arms. She was his most beloved wife but the only being in which Yugi ever clung to in such a way was her brother Malik (in which she was always envious of). He acted so distressed. She slid her arms around him comfortingly, holding him in the lightest embrace.

With that small question, Yugi withdrew for a second. Upon seeing the face of his wife so masterfully painted in white with black round the eyes and white on the lips, her long black tendrils of hair making her seem porcelain, he had been engulfed by that beauty. Being so he had completely forgotten the presence of the High Priest of Sutekh. 

"Seto," Yugi said, "You can leave now." As soft-spoken the words had been—not to mention friendly—they really were more of a polite command. The brunette gave a nod of his head and left, bowing at the entrance just as he did so. With Seto gone the small Pharaoh's attentions were turned fully onto his wife. "Isis," he whispered, "I am sorry for summoning you, I know that you must be busy."

"It's nothing that couldn't wait," Isis replied giving her husband a warm smile, "Seeing you is always more important then any task I could be in the middle of doing, my Pharaoh." She let out a small sigh once again hit with the full force of the distraught look on Yugi's face. Gracefully Isis knelt down beside Yugi, her hands on his face and her deep blue eyes bearing a worried expression of her own as she looked upon him. "What is it that you have summoned me for?" She asked, her voice soft and concerned, "You look distressed, my love."

Yugi gave a nod of his head. Indeed he was distressed. It had been barely a day since the brother he had not seen in years had showed up suddenly. "Do you remember my brother—Yami—the one who is really a Hebrew?" The question came wearily from Yugi's lips as he met Isis's gaze with his tear-filled violet eyes. 

"Certainly I do. I have many fond memories of Yami. Aside from you he has shown me more kindness then anyone else that I know," Isis's features become even more worrisome then. It had been years since he had last heard Yugi speak of his brother. "What is it about Yami that has troubled you so?" 

One of the tears that Yugi tired so hard fell from his painted violet eyes. It rolled down his cheek until it dripped off the tip of his chin and onto the floor. "He visited the palace yesterday," the words were but a whisper. Those same violet eyes, brimmed with the salty liquid of tears, slipped closed, pained.

Those words only caused Isis to blink. Was Yami visiting not a joyous occasion? He had been gone for so long. She knew all too well exactly how much Yugi had missed his beloved brother. Yet here the young Pharaoh was, grieved by the mere thought of it. "Please, my Pharaoh, tell me what happened?" Once again Isis gathered Yugi up into her arms, his face pressing into the soft tendrils of her ebony hair. At that moment she felt more like a mother or an older sister to Yugi then a wife.

"He came to tell me to free the Hebrews," the tri-color haired ruler whispered hoarsely. He was almost to the point of hiccups his grief was so overwhelming. "He said he came in the name if the Hebrew god to free the Hebrews from enslavement. Had it not been for Malik I would've done just as he told me to, I believe." Yugi looked up into the face of his wife, his breath hitching in his throat for a moment. "I told him that I couldn't free his people and begged him to leave," the words were all but choked out as Yugi sobbed helplessly into Isis's arms, "Did I do the right thing Isis? Surely you of all people will know whether or not I have made the right decision." 

For a long moment Isis could only gaze intently at her husband. Each word that came from the young ruler's lips was being mulled over and processed with great care. When she finally spoke again the words came paired with a warm smile. "Of course you did, my love," she whispered pressing her painted lips against Yugi's forehead, "It is not the Hebrew's place to be asking for freedom. The Egyptians and many others have helped freely whereas they refused. Whatever turmoil the Hebrew are, they have brought it upon themselves. They are ungrateful for all that they have—all of the mercy that you and the Pharaohs before you have shown them. If they suffer because of it, it is not your place to worry. And if Yami wishes to join them, my Pharaoh, I am afraid you're going to have to let him go. What he wishes to be is his choice and his choice alone. You can only pray that he comes back your way."

===============

A soft wind blew stands of blonde colored hair against Katsuya's pale skin. The sands of the desert beneath him swayed almost as if it were dancing as the breeze passed over the grains. Jou knew that soon Ryuuji would be arriving sometime soon. For that he was grateful. Time seemed to have passed slower than normal without him there to keep him company.

In a way the blonde found it amusing how quickly he had grown attached to the other male's company. Though looking back on it, it seemed that he had developed the attachment over the years they had spent as friends. It only seemed to grow stronger now that something more had happened between the two of them.

There was the quiet sound of sand shifting under the weight of heavy footsteps coming from behind him. A smile placed itself on Katsuya's features knowing whom the footsteps belonged to. "It's nice out tonight?" the blonde asked. He was completely lost in his dream world, not even bothering to turn around and look at the person who was approaching him. 

Again the sound of shifting sand filled the air—this time more loudly—as the person who Jounouchi assumed to be Ryuuji settled into the sand. "It could be a lot nicer," the stern voice in which those words were said in caused amber eyes to widen fiercely.

That voice was one in which Katsuya hadn't heard in years. He snapped his head to the side looking at the familiar features of the High Priest of Sutekh, Seto. He was wearing but a traditional toga, his many pieces of gold most likely lying forgotten on his bed. Seto's chestnut strands of hair fell perfectly between his eyes, drawing even more attention to their enrapturing blue depths. It had been so long yet his appearance had yet to change.

"You act as if you are surprised to see me," Seto said sounding indifferent about the subject as he did many things. That was how Seto was. Any emotions aside from pride, indifference, and anger was rare to see slip through. 

"What are you doing out here?" Jounouchi asked. The question had come out in a near snap. All of the sadness that had welled up inside of his chest over the years grew into a dark bitterness with the brunette around. The pain and anger he had felt years ago was still alive that day. Seeing Seto only proved to kindle the emotions that swelled in his chest.

"Visiting you," the way in which those words were spoken was that of a causal demeanor, as if they had spoken earlier that week rather then many years. "Do you have a problem with that? If you do I highly suggest that you forget about it. Leaving is something I don't plan on doing for a while."

The answer only proved to anger Katsuya further. "I meant _why_ are you here?" Again his words were bitter. Not only that but they were beginning to hold a bit of venomous edge to them.

"I wanted to see you," Seto replied. As the answer he had provided before had done, it angered the blonde next to him. It had gotten to the point where the brunette could almost feeling it scorching his skin.

"Why?" Jounouchi snapped at the brunette. His amber eyes were usually so warm but then they were colder then Seto's own. Seto hadn't realized exactly how much damage he had caused to the blonde back then. "Why do you want to see me Seto?" The question came out in a choked whisper. 

"I miss you, that's why," Seto stated plainly. It should've made Jounouchi happy to hear but he was filled with an undeniable rage. Before Seto could do anything to stop it his head was turned to the side, his face red and stinging. Katsuya had slapped him _hard_. 

"You can't miss me," the blonde yelled, pushing himself up off the sandy ground below him. The next part was said drastically different. It was a low whisper full of all the pain that Jounouchi had endured all of the years, "You never cared enough to miss me." He started to walk off but two hands roughly snatched him. He was thrown roughly down onto the ground.

It took a moment before Jou realized what had happened. By then he was already pinned to the ground roughly by the immense weight of Seto's body. Azure eyes were gazing into his own in a way that made him shiver involuntarily. "Why do you say that?" the question was snapped, causing Jounouchi to flinch. 

More than anything, it upset him. He glared fiercely at the priest above him. "Do you not recall what happened the last time we spoke? Don't tell me you've forgotten it!" He hissed thrusting his body upwards to fling Seto's body off but doing so unsuccessfully. Seto's hold on him was much too great.

A soft chuckle came from Seto. Jounouchi glared at him as if to say 'what's so funny?' "Are you so blind? The answer has been right in front of you all along, Katsuya," Seto announced. Chuckles turned into ironic bouts of laughter cruel in the fact that he was laughing at such a time when he never laughed, "If I didn't love you, you would be dead now. If I didn't love you, I wouldn't have put myself at risk for all of those years. Do you know that if the Pharaoh would've found out that I had been not only sleeping with a Hebrew but sneaking him into the palace and excusing him from doing slave work I would be executed?"

"Then why did you tell me you didn't?" Jounouchi asked his amber eyes still glaring at the brunette priest. To him it was just a sick joke. Seto didn't love him; he would find that out soon enough. Seto couldn't love him because he was too closed off. Jounouchi had convinced himself of that a long time ago. Seto couldn't love him because it would ruin everything that he had come to understand—destroy what he had accepted as 'reality'. 

"I did it for your own good," Seto replied calmly after his insane laughter had died down, "Had I told you that I love you, what would you have done? Not only would you have ended up dead but I could've died with you. Or worse you could die and I could live having to think of nothing more but how my stupidity killed you. So I said no." 

Jounouchi still didn't believe it. The reasons were logical enough but he didn't want to believe it. He wanted to believe that it was a lie. So that's what he believed. "You're lying…" Jou whispered miserably once again trying to squirm from Seto's grasp. 

"I'm not lying to you," Seto said. He moved his hands from their places on Jounouchi's side, up to the blonde's face cupping his cheeks. Because of this Jounouchi was forced to look him right in the eye. Then came the three words the blonde wished he could've heard a long time ago, "I love you."

He couldn't stand it. Those three simple words were almost enough to make Katsuya break down and cry. So he retaliated in the only way he could think of. "Well you're wasting your time because I don't love you anymore, Seto. I love Ryuuji," He stated calmly. It sounded true enough even if his mind screamed that it was a lie. He loved Seto not Ryuuji. 

A small smirk made its way to Seto's lips. This confused Jounouchi greatly. Shouldn't he be hurt rather then smirking? "If you love him and not me then don't kiss back," he stated smugly. Before Jou had a chance to protest or stop him, he felt Seto's lips on his own. It was only a few seconds before the blonde melted completely. Jounouchi returned Seto's kiss. 

===============

I hope that everyone has enjoyed this despite my supreme evilness. Mind you I—Hyatt the Jou worshiper—will kill all who hurt Jou for what he just did to Ryuuji. *Smacks Jade Maxwell's hand away from Jou's eye* The next chapter will be late again. I'm sorry to say that but I'm going through and debugging this story before it gets too into it.


	5. Act Five: Development

**Disclaimer**: *clears throat and points down below* See those words after "Act Five"? Those are lyric translations of the song "I'll" by Dir en Grey. =D Can you tell they're my favorite band? 

**Pairings as of now**: Otogi/Jounouchi, Seto/Jounouchi, Yam+Anzu, Yugi+Isis, and Malik/Yugi. Last three are background pairings so have no fears! 

**Act Five**:  
_Nothing has changed in my heart since that time  
The jealousy I give you is only an invitation  
I'm afraid of being hurt, and I can do nothing  
I hope that someday my dreams will come true_

Yami had come to visit the Pharaoh again. That had been the first thing Seto had been informed of after returning from a night with Jounouchi. It hadn't turned out quite as the chestnut-haired male would've hoped it would. After that first kiss Katsuya had refused to even look at him. They talked for hours—something that they've never done before. Yet the whole time honey-hued eyes were fixated on the ground, the sky, the streets and houses of the Hebrew slaves, and just about anywhere else the blonde could find to look just so long as he wouldn't have to look at Seto.

That made Seto want to panic. He had always had a hold over Jounouchi for so long, a hold that even though the blonde himself wouldn't admit it, was that of complete control. No matter how much Katsuya would protest or attempt to get away from him, he could never escape Seto. That had been his curse. 

Now that hold is gone. And why—because one idiotic thing he had said? One lie that shouldn't have even mattered in the first place. He was the high priest of Sutekh and Jounouchi was a slacker Hebrew slave, love was not meant to exist between them. How sadly ironic it had been for Seto when he had first discovered his feelings the loudmouth blonde. 

Before then their relationship—used in the loosest way possible—had been nothing more than lust. It had been a way for Katsuya to keep himself free, but no, it didn't stay that way. What had happened to change things? Nothing at all. Jounouchi kept being Jounouchi and Seto kept being Seto but somewhere along they way the brunette had realized that Jounouchi being himself was more than enough to capture his heart. It was infuriating. 

Even then Seto had managed to keep things the way there were. After all, hiding emotions was one of the things that Seto had done best. But then that night happened. That one moronic question had arisen and destroyed everything. Where had it come from? Katsuya had never concerned himself with such things before, so why did that happen then?

Ryuuji Otogi was the only thing that came to mind. Seto wasn't a moron. He had seen the two sneaking—or rather attempting to—around to see each other over the years. Nothing ever seemed to happen between them though. That was until a couple of nights ago. Ah yes, Seto knew exactly what it was that had happened between them. He was always watching Katsuya during the nights and sometimes during the day if he could a chance to. He was always waiting for a window where he would be able to approach the other but with Otogi there, one never came.

It had been painfully obvious that Ryuuji lusted for Jounouchi. He was always kind and loving, polite and very gentlemanly. Those were things that Otogi wasn't. Truth be told, the raven-haired male was a spoiled rotten brat with no grasp on his tongue. He was rude and arrogant and quite frankly, he irked Seto. 

Always, always, always—Otogi got always got what he wanted and it was infuriating. Normally that wouldn't bother Seto much if it weren't for one thing: what Ryuuji wanted was what Seto wanted. And who was the one who got his way? Otogi, of course. Jounouchi had been one thing that he had thought he would have over the other priest but clearly he was wrong.

So Seto had simple convinced Yugi that Otogi would be so much better suited for a certain task than he, leaving the priest busy for the whole night, and then went Jounouchi himself. He was convinced that one night would be all that he needed to get the blonde back, to once again have the same controlling hold over him, but he was so very wrong. Even though Ryuuji's feelings for Jounouchi didn't seem to be reciprocated he hadn't been able to do so much as fully grasp the other's attention.

Why was that? There had never been a time when Seto had found himself unable to hold Jounouchi's interest up until that point. It had always been the blonde hanging on his every word, move, breath, helplessly clinging to him like some pathetic child would do to their mother. That had been the sort of attention that Seto had come to crave. Why was last night any different? 

He told Jounouchi he loved him and over the course of the night he had made it painfully clear that he wasn't lying about it. And that had been what Katsuya had wanted more than anything—for Seto to love him. The fact that that had apparently changed over the years drove Seto up a wall.

It didn't help matters that Yami's visit earlier hadn't been pleasant. It had been that time that Seto had been in the middle of one his many daily bathing sessions (as all priest and priestesses were required as to keep themselves purified) when Yami had spoken with Yugi. He had let the warmed water ripple off of his body, letting it clear his mind for the smallest amount of time before he once again began to rack his brain for some sort of explanation, when the water had turned to blood.

At first Seto had believed that he had gone insane and that it wasn't blood he was seeing and thus just left the bathing area and dried himself off. Still he ignored the blood the stained the pale colored fabrics, believing that it was all in his head. It wasn't until he had gotten himself a drink of water that he realized that it wasn't inside of his head. The metallic taste of blood had overwhelmed his senses, causing him to choke and gasp, spitting the blood back on the ground. 

Later he was informed that not only was all of the water in Egypt turned to blood but also it had been made so because of Yami. Now the Pharaoh was hysterical. He had run to Isis, asking her again and again if he had done the right thing by turning Yami away. No matter how many comforting words had come from her painted lips, no matter how many reassuring kisses had been placed atop of his head, not comfort came.

For Malik it had been no different. He would feed Yugi his normal lies and empty promises of love, did the same things that had always allowed him to bed the Pharaoh to his will, to keep him close, but in the end Yugi had only pushed him away. He didn't believe any of it.

Where did Yugi have to turn after two of the three he held dearest held no comfort? Obviously not the last for he was the very reason Yugi was the way that he was at the moment. So were would he go? Right to the most straightforward and honest person he knew, Seto. That was where the brunette was then, sitting and listening to the Pharaoh's endless rambling and choked words while he tried not to block him out and deal with his own problems. Of course, that never happened as almost immediately thoughts of Jounouchi had strayed Seto from where his mind should've been. 

"What do I do, Seto? What do I do?" Yugi choked out for the umpteenth time that hour. "Did I do the right thing by turning him away…? Maybe I should just let them go. I don't want him to hate me. I don't, I don't, I don't."

This was insane. It didn't matter what anyone told him or if they didn't say anything at all. Yugi just wouldn't listen. He was too busy being locked inside of his head. 

Seto let out a growl of frustration, already in a greatly bad mood due to being unable to figure out what went wrong with Jounouchi, and Yugi only making the day worse for him. The urge to walk right up and shake some sense into Yugi was great, but he refrained. The price for touching the Pharaoh—without permission and even then it was still questionable—was death. 

Still, Seto had to do _something_. Not only was the constant babble driving him crazy but it was just pathetic. He stood up taking a few steps towards Yugi, his face cold and detached. He stopped right before the boy, his azure eyes burning into large violet ones in a way that made the small Pharaoh's lip quiver in fright.

"What should you do?" the brunette hissed, blue eyes narrowing, "Stop being so pathetic. Right now you should be more concerned for the well being of your people rather than whether or not your moronic brother will hate you for doing what you had to do. You're the Pharaoh. You're meant to be a God for all of your subjects to look up to and worship and you're sitting here crying to me about something that shouldn't even matter to you. You're so pathetic you don't deserve the name Pharaoh. You disgrace your people with your easily corrupted mind and weak heart. And I bet even after I've said all of this you're still wondering whether or not what you did is right. And if you want my honest opinion, I believe that Malik would be a better ruler than you are. At least he'd know what it was that he was doing and wouldn't let someone control him or worry about the feelings of others."

A moment of silence followed those words. Seto kept his gaze locked on Yugi, whereas Yugi had diverted his eyes to the ground, his whole body trembling. He didn't want to believe what Seto said was true, but deep down he knew that it was. He wasn't meant to be Pharaoh. He was too kind, too loving... too weak. 

"I could have you killed for saying that," Yugi muttered just above his breath. The words were spoken meekly with a twinge of fear. He was still refusing to look Seto in the eye.

"You could, but you wouldn't. You'd have to have some form of a backbone in order to do that." With those coldly spoken words, Seto left, leaving Yugi behind in his broken state. And the whole time the small Pharaoh was alone he couldn't help but wonder: would he ever be anything different or would he always be unworthy of calling himself Pharaoh? 

===============

He couldn't take any more of this. It didn't matter if there was someone talking to him or if he was alone, Seto couldn't help but think about his situation with Jounouchi. It was infuriating. No, no—it was _beyond_ infuriating. Getting even the simplest of tasks accomplished seemed to be impossible at this point. He was going to have to do something about the situation, something to tip things in his favor.

But what exactly could he do? Talking to Jounouchi himself obviously did nothing and speaking with Otogi would be much too dangerous for him to even risk. If anyone eve found out about his affairs with a slave, he would be a dead man. Granted, Ryuuji himself was in the same boat, but he could easily deny everything. Much more easily than Seto could. After all, Seto wasn't a coward. He wouldn't bring himself so low to protect himself. All of the things he had done thus far had been for Jounouchi's safety and his alone. 

The only way anything could be accomplished would be if he could somehow catch Otogi off guard. Perhaps show him up and tip the scales in his favor. Recent events would certainly make things a lot easier to do so without being noticed, but there was still the factor of what to do. It wasn't as if he could do just about anything in order to gain Jounouchi's undying affections again. Oh no, the blonde was far too stubborn to fall for cheap tricks or all around kind words. The only way he'd do so was if he were desperate for the attention anyways. That was how he first ensnared Jounouchi in the first place.

And then, it hit him. Ah yes, it would still be a dirty trick, something that he would wish that he wouldn't have to do, but in the end finding another way would most certainly be unlikely. 

With much luck the very person Seto needed to see in order to set things in action happened to be passing by his doorway. He outstretched his hand, quickly stopping the small servant boy Ryou in his tracks. He let out a startled yelp having not expected to be snatched so suddenly.

After regaining a bit of his composure Ryou turned to Seto, bowing ever so slightly. "Is there something that you need, Master Seto?" he asked in a polite voice before silently awaiting the orders that he knew were going to follow. 

"Find Katsuya and bring him to my chambers," Seto explained simply, "If I'm not there, telling him to wait. I have something to attend to before I can see him and I should arrive shortly." Ryou gave a small nod of understanding before scurrying off to find the blonde haired Hebrew.

Of course, if everything went according to how Seto wanted it to, Jounouchi wouldn't make it to his chambers. A proud, dark smirk curled at the corner of Seto's lips. Now all he had to do was find the black-haired priest and everything would be set. 

===============

The sounds of harsh words exchanged between the two priests filled the hallways. Their voices were hard whispers though they held all of the power of the loudest of yells. It was then that Ryou and Jounouchi had approached. The small servants eyes went wide and just as Katsuya was rounding the corner to put an end to the fight, he leapt forward, grabbing the blonde by his arm and pinning him against the wall with his hand clasped tightly over Jounouchi's mouth. 

Ryou shook his head slowly when Jounouchi's amber eyes fixed on him in a glare. "Don't interfere," he mouthed, "it isn't safe."

Silence came over the two fighting priests. It seemed that at that moment, every nasty remark they had had boiling inside of their minds had died just about then. So in that moment, they just stared at each other, eyes narrowed into firm, heated glares, holding exactly the hatred that they felt for each other. 

"What do you think you're _doing_?" Otogi shrieked out suddenly, backing himself up against the wall. Unfortunately for him, it had only taken two steps to get there and thus only two steps for Seto to get closer. The brunette's fingers trailed lightly over his cheek, over his jaw, and to his chin, applying a bit of a force to tilt Otogi's chin upwards.

"I don't _have_ to be doing anything," Seto stated simply, tilting his head inwards so that his breath would play over Otogi's lips, "It's just a simple touch." 

The raven-haired male furrowed his brows, looking at the blue-eyed male before him with a puzzled expression. "This is _something_, no matter what you say. You're clearly implying something with your actions, something that could cost the both of us a great deal," Ryuuji pointed out bitterly. 

A smirk tugged at the corner of Seto's lips. It was something of a haughty nature, making the other gulp beneath it. There was something that Otogi had failed to pick up on in those moments. No matter what he said or how much he tried to defend himself, he had still yet to pull away from Seto's touch. 

"Like I said, this doesn't have to be anything. And it's true. It could be nothing more than a comfortable closeness or a simple touch. Anything more—or implied as you so very well put it—is all in your head," the brunette whispered mockingly, "and if it is in your head, you've obviously thought about it and on some level actually want what I'm doing to mean something. Am I not right?" 

Otogi only continued to stare, his emerald eyes slightly wide, fixated on Seto's face with a glimmer of something close to shame in them. Despite his hatred for the man before him, he _did_ want what the other's actions might be implying. He _did_ want what they might lead to. And he hated himself for it. He shouldn't be reacting any way aside from anger. Yet he wasn't even the slightest bit angry at all. 

"What? You have nothing to say in your defense?" Seto chuckled, "I was expecting more from you. Not that what I was expecting was much at all but I wasn't expecting you to just slink against. It's outright pathetic of you. You could at least put up a fight before admitting de—"

Any further words were silenced as Seto soon found Otogi's mouth pressed persistently up against his. He couldn't help but let his eyes widen a bit. This wasn't exactly how this was supposed to go. Well, the kiss was, but now Seto found himself being pushed to the other side of the hall, his back soon hitting up against the wall. Ryuuji wasn't meant to be the one in the control as he so clearly was. And at that moment, only one word registered in Seto's mind. Panic.

Just around the corner Jounouchi was fuming. He was completely furious—not to mention _hurt_ by—with the whole situation. Not only had Seto easily made a pass on Ryuuji but also Ryuuji had easily accepted it. Why, why, _why_ would he do something like that? The blonde tried to round the corner finding himself being slammed up against the wall.

"Don't!" Ryou hissed sounding uncharacteristically demanding even though his brown eyes were pleading. With a sigh of defeat Katsuya slinked back against the wall, taking Ryou's advice. Seto could still push Ryuuji away. And he would do so… right? Yes, he would. So there was no point for Jounouchi to worry himself.

However he found himself quickly sinking in doubt as Otogi's lips had moved down to Seto's neck, covering the tanned skin in feather-light kisses. He turned his head away. He couldn't watch it anymore.

"Take me back," Katsuya whispered to Ryou. The small servant furrowed his brows in thought for a moment before looking at Jounouchi somewhat pleadingly. "Tell him that if Seto has any qualms with you, he is to take them up with me first. I'll take full responsibility; don't worry. And I would like you to also tell him that aside from anything regarding your safety, I don't want to see him again."

Ryou looked at him for a moment, taking in everything that he had just said before letting out a small sigh. "As you wish. I'll take you back now," he muttered, finally releasing his hold on Jounouchi.

As soon as Ryou backed away however, Katsuya bolted. In a few simple steps he had walked around the corner, a little bit pleased to find that at the very least, Seto had pushed Otogi away. The raven-haired male was now a few feet away from him looking more than a little miffed. Of course that miffed look soon turned to one of shock as Jounouchi stopped right before him.

"Katsuya, I—"

Instead of getting any sort of explanation—not that it would've done any good—or apology out Otogi found himself touching his fingers to his cheek. The whole right side of his face seemed to sting, most of all where a large, red, hand-shaped mark was now appearing. Katsuya's hand lingered slightly in the air. It was almost as if the blonde wasn't sure he had actually done it. But he had. He slapped Ryuuji. 

"Save apologies and explanations for someone who wants to hear them." 

Leaving nothing more than those last words in the air, Katsuya turned on his heel and ran. He couldn't stand to be in the palace any longer. Little did he know that not too far behind him, taking long and steady, but silent steps nonetheless, was a certain brunette priest who was no doubt bent on 'taking the pain away'. 

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I apologize for my lack of writing just about anything as of late. You see… well… I have no excuses. I have a feeling this story is going to end up being longer than the originally planned 9 parts. Oh well—you who actually read it will love it, right?

Chapter 5 and I don't know how I'm going to end this. Hmm—well, readers… if any of you bother to review, who would you like Jounouchi to end up with Otogi or Seto or would you like him to end up with no one? And state reasons. If you say 'because it's my favorite couple' I shall whack you upside the head. So don't.


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